Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Tool to Manage Golf Course Maintenance Labor

By Michael D. Vogt, CGCS

If you can effectively manage labor you most likely will have better cost controls of your golf course maintenance budget. Moreover, labor expenses account for more than 50% of most annual golf maintenance budgets. Superintendents should regard labor as the "Low Hanging Fruit" when it comes time to curtail annual maintenance costs. Simple changes in scheduling labor can be very effective in business cost control in most cases.

I have studied labor hour allocations and believe controls can be added to give the superintendent a practical tool to better assign those valuable labor hours more precisely. A weekly labor planner, if applied, could save as much as 15% in labor over the entire year, maybe more!

The schedule tool below has a low time commitment and is a great training tool for assistant superintendents looking to sharpen their management skills. Only the finest managed clubs will thrive during this rocky economic environment. Remember, even in good economies saving operating dollars is the right thing to do. These savings may be deferred to make needed additions to equipment inventories and improve facilities, making your golf course maintenance business even more efficient. With club revenues generally down from recent years a club must count on teamwork from all its managers to keep an eye on expenses. A careful eye on labor is a "Win-Win" in any economy.